The funding of health campaigners

Despite a massive flow of money into the buoyant charity sector during 2006, raising sufficient funds remains a major problem for patient organisations and other health campaigners.

• Pages 6-17 look at why patient organisations, in particular, are turning to big business and pharmaceutical companies for respite. And why such groups have opened themselves up to charges of being in the pocket of pharma.
• Pages 19-26 outline the results of a December 2006 HSCNews mini-poll of 35 health campaigners. These groups discuss why they experience difficulties generating income.
• Pages 27-38 examine patient-group codes of conduct, using five health campaigners as case studies. The five have tried to resolve the tensions inherent in retaining independence and accepting sponsorship. The article analyses how the codes of conduct differ, and notes some outstanding questions that need to be answered. The five groups are:
• European Organization for Rare Diseases (Eurordis).
• Myeloma Euronet.
• Depression Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA).
• Consumers' Health Forum of Australia (CHF).
• H E A R T UK.
• Pages 39-47 give two case studies: the Italian Lega Italiana Fibrosi Cistica, and the Californian Taproot Foundation. The two organisations have, for the most part, overcome (for themselves, at least) the problems of financial turbulence that plague many health groups.
• Pages 48-50 carry a letter from two convenors of the Australian group Children of Mentally-Ill Consumers, who comment on one aspect of the burgeoning international carers' movement [covered in HSCNews, issue 33].